


Giving Back

by sedna_mode



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 9k tumblr followers special, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Prompt Fic, tags will be updated as fills are posted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 05:43:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14074164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sedna_mode/pseuds/sedna_mode
Summary: A series of prompt fills for my recent Tumblr follower milestone! Each chapter is independent1:Sheith, Shiro is a stressed and overworked Master's student (request by wildwolf25)





	Giving Back

**Author's Note:**

> I recently took a bunch of prompts as part of my tumblr milestone special, and I'll post them all here too so they're in one place. I'll slowly add to this as I finish the different fills, updating tags as needed along the way. By the end there will be 10-15 chapters. Each chapter is independent

Keith blinked awake in the still, oppressive darkness that indicated it was the middle of the night. Squeezing his eyes back shut he groaned and rolled over, groping blindly for the familiar solid warmth next to him to burrow into and fall back asleep.

Except the space on the other side of the bed was decidedly empty and cold.

Confused, Keith squinted at the spot, patting around as though he’d find what he was looking for if he just tried enough times. When he still came up empty Keith pushed up on an elbow to glance at the glowing numbers of the clock on the bedside table.

3:36 am

“Shiro…”

With a sigh, Keith rolled up and out of bed, shivering slightly as his bare feet hit the cold hardwood. Movements slow with sleep he groped around until he found one of Shiro’s big comfy sweaters, and pulled it over his head as he made his way out into the rest of the apartment.

There was a light on in the living room, where Keith had left Shiro nearly four hours ago when he went to bed, and he squinted against it. Shiro was sitting at their dining/work table, in exactly the same position Keith had last seen him, typing away at his computer with the occasional pause to scrutinize a figure or table, earphones on, papers and notebooks and open textbooks lying scattered around him and spilling onto the floor.

The big beeswax candle he liked to have on while he worked had burnt through a third of its length.

Shiro’s back was to Keith, and he was so absorbed in what he was doing he didn’t hear Keith leave the bedroom. Knowing better than to startle his boyfriend when he was in such a concentrated state, Keith shuffled around the table into Shiro’s line of sight before attempting to get his attention.

“Hey,” he called softly, waving.

Even so, Shiro jumped badly when he noticed Keith next to him. Eyes wide, he pressed a hand to his chest as he pulled his headphones off.

“Keith! Hey, you scared me.” Shiro’s smile was small and sheepish. “I’m sorry, did I wake you up? I thought I was being quiet.”

Keith slid into the chair next to him, relocating a couple papers to the table as he did so, and stole a couple sips from Shiro’s glass of water to chase the sleep croak out of his voice.

“You didn’t wake me, it’s fine,” he reassured. “I just rolled over and you weren’t there so I came looking. What happened to ‘I’m just finishing something real quick’ huh?”

Shiro winced and shot a glance at his computer’s clock.

“Ah, yeah,” he sighed. His eyes slid sideways to meet Keith’s and a small half-smile tugged at his lips. “There’s nothing I can say, is there.”

Keith huffed. “Not really, no. Come to bed Shiro, you need sleep. Your thesis will still be here in the morning.”

“But I’m on a…. roll.” Shiro trailed off lamely at the look Keith shot him.

“You’re doing yourself no favours pushing yourself like this. You’re more likely to make mistakes and then you’ll have to waste time fixing them later.”

Keith reached out and gently pushed Shiro’s hands away from the keyboard. “Come sleep, and you’ll be more efficient and focused tomorrow.”

Shiro let himself be pushed back and surveyed the mess of papers and books around him, finally relaxing.

“You’re right. Of course you’re right.”

He ran a hand through his fringe and yawned, betraying his fatigue. “Ok. Let me just. Save all my work and straighten out these papers a bit.”

“Of course babe.”

Keith levered himself up and pressed a quick kiss to Shiro’s temple before picking up the water glass and carrying it to the kitchen. He gave it a quick wash and set it in the rack to dry, then went back and blew out Shiro’s candle.

In the meantime Shiro had shut his computer and moved on to closing textbooks and gathering the scattered papers into neat piles.

Keith came forward to press himself to Shiro’s back as he worked, nuzzling his face in between Shiro’s shoulder blades and inhaling his warm, comforting scent. Shiro hummed in acknowledgement and adjusted his stance to support Keith’s sleepy weight as he finished getting everything in order.

When he finished, Shiro turned around in Keith’s loose grip and dropped a kiss to the top of his head.

“Alright, time for bed.”

“Mm, good.”

Keith was already halfway to falling back asleep. Shiro wound an arm around him and steered him back towards the bedroom, only pausing to turn off the light as he passed.

With a hiss of relief Shiro went through the steps of removing his prosthesis for the night. He rubbed his sore stump and fell into bed where Keith helpfully held the covers open for him, groaning as he settled in.

“Oh this is heaven. Why didn’t I listen to you sooner.”

Keith snorted softly. “Probably because you’re a stressed out Master’s student who loses track of time when you get really focused.”

He reached around to gather his boyfriend in his arms, rearranging them so Shiro was half draped on top of him. Like this he could easily rub up and down Shiro’s back, and he felt the tension melt away as Shiro relaxed into the touch. An arm snaked around to circle Keith’s waist, locking them together, and Shiro burrowed his head further into Keith’s neck.

“That’d do it,” he murmured, warm breath tickling the sensitive skin under Keith’s jaw. “Seriously though, thanks. I probably would’ve stayed out there all night if you hadn’t come get me.”

Keith squeezed his arms a bit tighter around Shiro’s shoulders in acknowledgement. “Just promise me something? Promise you’ll try and take better care of yourself? No degree is worth you making yourself sick from overworking.”

“I’ll try. Can’t guarantee how successful I’ll be but I will try.”

“That’s good enough for now. Sleep.”

“Yes, sir,” Shiro huffed his amusement and pressed his lips to Keith’s pulse, then added, quieter, words barely a breath against warm skin, “love you.”

Keith smiled, already mostly asleep, and breathed back, “love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://ace-pidge.tumblr.com/)!


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